President Trump on Thursday penned a thank-you tweet to North Korean dictator Kim Jong Un, thanking him for beginning the process of repatriating what are presumed to be U.S. troops’ remains.
“Thank you to Chairman Kim Jong Un for keeping your word & starting the process of sending home the remains of our great and beloved missing fallen! I am not at all surprised that you took this kind action. Also, thank you for your nice letter – l look forward to seeing you soon,” Trump wrote.
Thank you to Chairman Kim Jong Un for keeping your word & starting the process of sending home the remains of our great and beloved missing fallen! I am not at all surprised that you took this kind action. Also, thank you for your nice letter – l look forward to seeing you soon!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) August 2, 2018
North Korea last week gave the United States 55 sets of of what are believed to be U.S. troops’ remains. The remains included only one set of dog tags, and the long process of identifying the remains can now begin.
Last week, North Korea handed over the remains to U.S. custody at the Kalma Airport in northeast North Korea. The remains were flown on a U.S. military transport plane that landed just outside Seoul, where they were then unloaded onto vans for a forensic review.
A repatriation ceremony was held at Osan Air Base in South Korea.
On Wednesday, the U.N.-flag-draped cases were loaded back onto the military transport plane before taking off for Joint Base Pearl Harbor-Hickam in Hawaii, where they later arrived. A solemn ceremony was held to welcome the remains home.